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I have a 1939 Desoto that was painted back in 1998 that used single stage paint. My painter did not recommend base coat with a clear coat. They are finding that with some of the water based paints that they were having issue with the clear coats peeling off the base coat.

My paint is as fresh as it was new. every year I claybar the entire body at least twice a year to keep the paint and body looking great to remove any junk that has gotten on the car. I then also use McQuires Tech paste wax to finish off the protection of the paint. The car has never been buffed out and it is a great looking car. You can see a picture of my 39 Desoto on this year NDC 207 Calander go to MArch Clear coat was not used back in the 50 basically it was enamels base coats.Rich Hartungdesoto1939@aol.com

If you have a paint guy that really knows his stuff, it won't matter whether he uses a single stage or base coat - clear coat paint. Prep work is just as important.

If you are concerned about originality, single stage was factory finish. My '59 Firesweep was repainted once (single stage) in the factory original colors by one of the two previous owners and although not perfect, it looks pretty good and probably as good as the factory job. There are several pictures of my car in the "What did you do with or to your DeSoto today" field on this website and it is featured in the month of August on the NDC 2017 calendar. The blue is metallic and the white is not but I'd say both are about equal in quality.

Keep us posted with your progress and pictures are always welcome and appreciated.

The single stage paint used today is not the same as the 'baked super enamel' that was used when your car was painted at the factory.

My paint guy advised using base/clear. His reasoning was that if the car ever suffered a chip, parking lot ding or other issue, it is easier to repair and you wouldn't have to refinish the entire panel. In the course of reassembling my car (1958 Plymouth in the example) after painting the panels, there were edges that got chipped and other panels that got scratched. My paint guy was able to fix all the issues to the point that even looking close up at the areas could not detect that there had ever been damage.

I was concerned about the paint looking close to factory. So I asked that the car be only lightly color sanded and buffed. I was beyond happy with the results.

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